Trump Moves to Silence a New Target
The latest maneuver comes from the Federal Trade Commission. Last month, it announced that it would approve the merger of two of the biggest ad agencies in the world only if the parties agree to an unusual condition: The merged company cannot refuse to place ads on websites for political reasons.
The move was a sharp break from its traditional practice. The F.T.C. is usually focused on such concerns as consumer protection and monopoly power; now it's trying to dictate where businesses advertise their products.
While the move would theoretically affect platforms of any political persuasion, there's little doubt that it is a thinly veiled attempt to prop up X.
Formerly known as Twitter, the platform suffered an advertiser exodus after Elon Musk took it over and began using it to promote right-wing talking points, including antisemitism and conspiracy theories. In 2023, dozens of advertisers suspended their spending after two media watchdog groups, the Center for Countering Digital Hate and Media Matters, revealed how X was profiting from accounts that spread hate and misinformation and that major brands' ads were appearing near pro-Nazi content. X responded by suing both the watchdog groups, as well as an advertising trade group and several leading advertisers it accused of illegally boycotting its business.
Then in May, the F.T.C. began investigating roughly a dozen advertising and advocacy groups including Media Matters to determine if they were engaged in a conspiracy or collusion by encouraging advertisers to boycott X and other websites. Media Matters has since sued the F.T.C., but in the meantime, the organization has dialed back its criticism and is considering closing in the face of steep legal fees.
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